First of all, anyone who knows me understands my complete loathing and abhorrence of the current President of the United States.  This is in no way intended as a weakening of that position.

But, I am equally loathful and offended by those who would twist facts or outright lie to suit their causes.

The so-called Alligator Alcatraz bears no resemblance to a concentration camp whatsoever.

Anyone who knows just a bit about the history of Dachau, Treblinka, Auschwitz, Birken-Belsen, Sobibor, or any of the other camps would understand this.

No one is sending entire families to Alligator Alcatraz, separating still viable workers from the majority, then herding women and children into gas chambers.

No one is selecting victims for gruesome experiments, shooting them for collapsing from exhaustion, or using them for barbaric target practice.

No one is systematically starving and working those held there to death.

They are not arriving in overstuffed cattle cars, absent any water or sanitary facilities

Anyone comparing the Florida holding facility to a concentration camp is as idiotic, woefully misinformed, and without intellectual integrity as those who deny the Holocaust.  Both are driven by agendas that ignore the evidence and, most importantly, the truth.

Finding and detaining those who have broken the law by entering this country unlawfully is a necessary responsibility of the Federal Government.  For state and local governments to refuse to cooperate in this enforcement is a dangerous precedent.

My only issue is with the process. It is simple enough to present a violator to an Immigration Judge, offer evidence of the individual’s unlawful presence in the US, and seek a deportation order.

Mr. Trump’s arrogance, and the complicity of those who kowtow to his policies, blinds them to his responsibility to act within the law. That I agree he intentionally flouts this responsibility does not negate the underlying lawful intent. And Mr. Trump’s oft-stated ignorance of due process notwithstanding–“I don’t know, I’m not a lawyer”–he should know like any sixth grader would.

The Constitution and Due Process are just inconvenient to him. That should concern everyone.

Our enforcement should be lawful, constitutionally compliant, and equitable, yet tempered by mercy and compassion. It is not a one-size-fits-all issue. There are circumstances under which those who are here should be offered an opportunity to remain, and not just as convenient cheap labor.

However, if you’ve committed a violent crime, you’re gone.

If the issue is an insufficient number of Judges to hear the cases, hire more Judges. Make the process so efficient that there is no incentive to risk coming here.

Touting places like Alligator Alcatraz as a solution to our immigration problem panders to the basest of human emotions, a false sense of superiority coupled with ingrained prejudice.  Like the crowd in the Colosseum screaming for death, it feeds the animal instinct of our origins.

We are better than that.

Nevertheless, Alligator Alcatraz offers three meals a day and a place out of the weather. It is better than what we provide our homeless veterans and others. It is likely better than many military housing units. 

It is not cruel. It is not inhuman. It is not barbaric.

While I wish it were also unnecessary, it is most certainly not a concentration camp. It is not the best solution, but it is definitely not the Final Solution.